CHAPTER 41 Lost Souls

Fox sat in his office and waited for the phone to ring. It had been a week since Teresa had left and there were no news from her at all. All he hoped for was that both her and little Ethan were doing alright.

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Teresa wandered the streets, just walking and trying to clear her mind. Since she left on that night, she felt lost and lonely. The truth is, she missed Fox more than she was willing to admit to herself and her son missed his father. Often at night, he cried for him. Then there was the night any parent dreams of the second their child is born.

She was putting little Ethan to bed when he said the word "daddy". She looked at him with her mouth wide open and turned around to call Fox, but she recalled that he wasn't there. At that moment, the temptation of running back to him had never been that strong.

"Where the hell is Paloma?"

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The phone finally rang in Fox's office just as Gwen was walking in. He picked it up and listened.

"What do you mean she's not in Harmony?"

He fell silent and listened to what the man was telling him.

"I don't care, keep looking. I'm not paying you to sit on your hide."

He slammed the phone down and looked up to see that Gwen was standing before him.

"What do you want now?"

"You have to come home."

"No, I'm not going anywhere."

"Do you enjoy camping in your office? Come home, Fox."

"What part of no don't you understand, Gwen?"

She looked at his face. His eyes were red and there were dark circles under them. He hadn't shaved in days. His desk was full of papers and there was a board behind him with a list of locations scratched out. She guessed that this was where he looked for Teresa.

"How could she do this, Gwen? I don't understand. Thins got so complicated between us the second we left Harmony."

"I know. But relationships are always like that, complicated."

He grabbed the bottle of vodka sitting on his desk and drank some. Gwen came to him and took the bottle.

"This doesn't solve anything, Fox."

"Maybe not, but it sure as hell numbs the anger and the pain that I'm feeling."

She felt sorry for him but she understood why Teresa did what she had to do. It was extreme, but you could never expect anything less than that from her.

"Do you love her?"

"I think I do, but I also thought I felt something for Whitney Russell and it turned out to be nothing."

"Are you worried that you'll be making the same mistake?"

"Yes. If it was just Teresa and me, I would go head on and make whatever mistake I have to make, but there's a child involved in this."

"Did it occur to you that maybe Teresa felt the same way?"

"I know she does, but she didn't have to leave like that and take him with her."

"She is his mother...."

"And I am his father. She had no right, do you hear me? Absolutely no right do take him without asking me. She didn't give me the chance to say goodbye, nothing. She left in the middle of the night without a word and I might never see them again."

He was getting angrier by the minute. Gwen had never seen Fox act that way.

"You should calm down."

"Gwen, do not tell me to calm down. I want them back."

She went around his desk and took him by the hand.

"Let's go home. You can have a nice warm shower and a good meal. It'll clear your head."

"Maybe you're right."

He got up, picked up some of his papers and left behind her.

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"Teresa?"

"Paloma. I'm so happy to see you."

The sisters embraced and Teresa burst in tears.

"Come home, please."

"I don't think I can."

"Then at least let Fox see his son. He is out of his mind with worry."

"Really?"

"Yes and he misses his son terribly...and he missed you too."

"I don't want to stay here, Paloma. I'm tired of LA."

"We thought for sure you were in Harmony."

"That's where I was going but I changed my mind because I thought it would be the first place you would look."

"And we did. Why did you leave like that, Teresa?"

"Because I felt like I felt trapped and I needed time for myself, you know to sort out my feelings."

"And did you do it?"

"No, I know that I don't love Ethan, but I don't know how I feel about Fox."

Paloma raised her eyebrows.

"Don't lie to me and most importantly, don't lie to yourself."

"You want the truth?"

"Yes, I do."

"I don't think I can stand having my heart broken again. I don't think I'll survive it. Look what happened with Ethan and now Fox. He slept with Whitney because he thought he felt something for her. I can't have him be confused about this, Paloma."

"Why don't you speak to him?"

"Because I don't think I can face him."

"But you have to sometime. Teresa, I haven't seen you this lost in so long!"

"It's because he's not around. I feel empty inside when he's not near me."

"Why don't you go and tell him? He feels the same way, you know. Something broke inside him the night you left."

"Was he broken because I left or because I took Ethan with me?"

"Both. Don't you see? He loved your son because he was yours. He always said he got the best in him because you were his mother. And maybe Fox isn't willing to admit it, but I know that he loves you and only you. I think it's killing him as much as it's killing you that he doesn't remember the night the two of you got together."

They both got up from the bench.

"Where's your son?"

"I left him at daycare."

"Well then let's go get him and go home. What do you say?"

Teresa nodded and walked to the hotel. She took her son out of daycare and they drove back to Malibu. The car pulled out in the driveway and Teresa got out holding her son in her arms.

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"What do you want? We have salad, diet coke...."

"Chick food? That was worth it, me coming home for a meal. Cook something."

"You know very well that I can't cook, Fox."

"Yes, I know that. You used test your product on me during one of those experiments in the kitchen, Gwen."

"How many times do I have to apologize for that? Besides, I don't think I had ever seen Teresa laugh that much about something."

"Yes, Teresa."

They heard the doorbell.

"You should get it, the housekeeper is one her day off."

Fox got up and started toward the door.

"Let's not tempt fate with your cooking and order pizza or Chinese."

"I thought you would never ask."

He got to the door and opened it.

"Sorry, I forgot my keys."

"You are such an airhead, Paloma."

"Speak for yourself, jerk."

He looked at her as she stood under the door.

"What are you doing? Are you planning on staying here all afternoon?"

"No, not really. I brought you someone."

Fox looked at Teresa with complete shock.

"Teresa?"